1967 Pop Track, Written in Five Minutes for a Film, Became a No. 1 Breakout Ballad
James Clavell's 1967 film To Sir, with Love would end up yielding one of the best-selling singles of the year. Created specifically for the film, the pop ballad would top the charts and become a breakthrough hit for a Scottish singer.
The British drama film starred Sidney Poitier and featured Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall, and Patricia Routledge. Its plot dealt with social and racial issues in a secondary school in the East End of London. The film was considered a commercial success, also thanks to its title theme sung by Scottish singer Lulu. She also starred in To Sir, With Love in her acting debut.
"To Sir with Love" was developed as the film needed the perfect track for an ending scene where Lulu's character sings to thank Poitier's character. According to Billboard, Lulu disliked the list of tracks that were presented to her by the producers.
"I hated them," she told Billboard in 1985. "I said to my friend Mark London, ‘They're going to make me sing these rotten songs and it will be awful. Why don't you write the songs?'"
London was married to Marion Massey, who was Lulu's manager at the time. He first rejected the offer, believing his ideas wouldn't stand a chance. After some persistence by Lulu, he finally agreed and composed the song within five minutes. Don Black, who was well-known for creating theme songs for TV, film, and even musicals, joined in to develop the lyrics the next day.
Lulu was "over the moon" with the results and knew it would be a "great song." The track was used in the film, with her record label having released it as the B-side to a cover sung by Lulu of a Neil Diamond song. It was no surprise that Lulu was reportedly angered by it.
"To Sir with Love" would end up being preferred by American DJs who would give more than enough radio airplay to launch it to the charts. It landed at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for five weeks. The track's popularity led to a breakthrough into the U.S. market for Lulu, as she became the second British artist to top the charts. She was also the only Scottish artist to do so until Calvin Harris in 2011.
According to reports, Lulu's manager and the film's director were angered when "To Sir with Love" was considered in the list of nominations for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards. That year, the award went to "Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle.
Related: 1967 Folk-Pop Ballad, Written by a Teenager, Became a Melancholy Anthem Decades Later
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 3:17 PM.